Chapter 2

Kahlan lay awake in bed still dreaming of what the day would bring as she admired the finished dress she would wear to marry Richard as it hung by the door. As promised, with Martha's help, the seamstress had been able to finish the dress in just 3 days. She hoped Richard would like it as much as she did. The shimmery smooth fabric of pearl white was scattered with petite flowers of a deep cornflower blue that Martha said brought out the intensity of her eyes.

She and Richard would be married this day. Never did she imagine she would marry for love. Tears of joy pricked her eyes. Hearing a soft rap on her door, she got out of bed and padded over to it. "Who is it?"

"The happiest man alive."

"Richard!" she opened the door and pulled him in. Wrapping her arms around him she passionately kissed his lips.

He pulled her up into his arms, kicking the door shut behind him with his foot.

"How's my future wife this morning?"

"She couldn't be better. She's getting married today."

"It's about time too." He smiled warmly, taking in her radiant eyes. "I brought these for you" he said, holding up a small bouquet of freshly picked Morning Glories in a deep shade of cornflower blue.

"How did you know to pick these, Richard? They're just the right color." She knew they would complement the flowers of her dress perfectly.

"Let's just say I had a feeling….and a little help from Rachel."

Kahlan smiled at the thought of Richard picking flowers with Rachel. She rested her nose against his. "I'm so happy Richard. I never dreamed I'd marry for love."

He circled his arms tight around her waist "I never dreamed I'd marry the most beautiful woman in the world." He kissed her tenderly, allowing her warmth to seep into him. He would stay here in her arms all day were it not for their wedding. He pulled himself from the embrace. "The sooner you're dressed, the sooner we'll be married." He looked to the bed behind her "and the sooner we can start continuing the line of Confessors."

Kahlan blushed and shooed him out the door. "Out with you then and let me get ready!"

He grabbed the door just before it closed, leaning in close, "I love you Kahlan."

She gave him a quick kiss around the door "I love you too."

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"My, my, Mother Confessor. Your Richard won't know what to do with himself when he sees how beautiful you are." Martha finished tying the ribbon she had woven through the soft tendrils of Kahlan's hair. She had worked small braids from Kahlan's temples joining them together as one with the silken ribbon to lay over her thick mass of hair in the back.

Her dress was cut low across her chest accentuating her bosom, causing it to overflow the fabric in just the right manner. The narrow waist hugged her middle before gracefully flowing over her hips. The shimmery pearl of the fabric matched Kahlan's skin bringing out her inner radiance. Kahlan lifted the bouquet of blue Morning Glories off the table near the door and headed downstairs.

Richard waited for her at the bottom of the steps. He too had dressed for the occasion, with new pants and tunic. Kahlan thought he looked handsome indeed. Richard's breath caught in his chest as he watched her descend the stairs. Her beauty and grace so overwhelmed him, he could barely remember his own name. He walked to meet her and took her hand in his bringing it to his lips, softly kissing her fingers. His eyes looked deeply into hers, "I think I've forgotten how to breathe. You look beautiful, Kahlan." She looked at him through watery eyes, brought on more by the way he looked at her than the words he'd said. She smiled a special smile just for him, keeping her tears in check.

Zedd, Rachel, Martha and her boys stood and watched as the town elder said the words over them. Lost in each other's eyes it seemed they were the only two people alive. They repeated the words and answered the questions when asked, but in their hearts, in their souls they were already committed. Before the elder ever said a word, they were one.

When Richard pulled Kahlan close to kiss his newly pronounced wife, she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding her bouquet behind him as they tenderly kissed.

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Richard awoke face down in their bed. No longer feeling Kahlan's warm body against him, he stretched out an arm reaching to pull her close. He felt only the empty bed. He rolled onto his back and opened his eyes, allowing them to adjust to the faint light of dawn. Not seeing her nearby, he sat up. "Kahlan?" His eyes scanned the dimness of their room. "Kahlan?" He climbed out of bed and pulled on his buckskin pants. He saw Kahlan's wedding dress lying on the bedside chair, right where he had tossed it earlier that night. He saw her Confessors dress hanging on a hook near the door. Richard retrieved her pack only to find her traveling clothes were still stuffed inside. All her clothes were here. Yet she wasn't in their room. Richard felt his throat closing in. Something was wrong. He didn't know what, but he needed to find out. Now.

Kahlan had awoken suddenly. She'd thought she'd heard a noise. She lay against Richard, his big arm over her waist, keeping her close, their legs twined at the ankle. The predawn coolness of night filled the room. Though she awoke with a start, she at once felt the strong pull of sleep. She wanted to stay awake, to listen for another sound, but the pull was to too great. She saw a pale green haze drifting in the room. She tried to sit up but a heaviness weighed her down. She fought against her drooping eyelids, trying to make sense of the haze blanketing their room.. She felt an urgency to stay awake but she couldn't fight it. She tried to call out to Richard but had no voice.

Moments later, Kahlan quietly pulled from Richard's embrace. Though up and moving, it was as if she were still asleep, walking in a dream. Just as she was about to slip from the room, Kahlan stopped to gather her wedding bouquet that lay on the table by the door. She quietly closed the door behind her. The entire inn was filled with the green haze as Kahlan walked, naked but for the bouquet of flowers, through the main door of the inn.

Three women huddled together in the darkness, standing just outside of Martha's inn. Their heads bowed as they chanted, one of them swinging a small urn from which the green haze flowed. Upon hearing the door open their heads came up as one. A grip of excitement held them as they saw the Mother Confessor walking toward them. Her pale skin reflected in the full moonlight. There was an ethereal beauty about her as she seemed to glide toward them. Even fully unclothed she looked ever so the bride, carrying the small bouquet of flowers in her hand.

One of the women approached her and kneeled in front of her. "Mother Confessor, we are delighted you've come." She rose before her and wrapped Kahlan in a gossamer dress, further adding to the ghostly look about her. Kahlan's mind struggled to make sense of it all. She knew she shouldn't go with these women, but she couldn't make herself stop. With all of her being she wanted to call out for Richard, to run back inside the inn to the safety of his arms, but she wasn't able to resist. It felt as if an invisible chord pulled her along with them. As she began to follow them, something in her mind told her to pull a petal from her bouquet. She didn't know why, but it seemed important. She tugged at one of the velvety smooth blossoms and let it drift to the ground. A small tear found its way out of the corner of her eye as she went willing with them into the forest.

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